The youthful superstar more than lived up to the dreaded reputation of being a deadly first-round finisher.
At ONE Fight Night 8 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the battering ram from Kyrgyzstan knocked out Oh Ho Taek in just 44 seconds, demonstrating his dominance in the featherweight division.
Abdullaev moved incredibly fluidly as he dodged Oh’s uppercut and connected with a clean right uppercut to the chin of the South Korean.
That one swift hit turned out to be the catalyst for Abdullaev’s ferocious ground onslaught, and he knocked Oh Ho Taek out with a barrage of punches that compelled the referee to stop the fight almost before one minute had passed.
Prior to competing in the ONE Championship, Akbar Abdullaev earned seven first-round finishes, bringing his perfect record to 9-0.
Because of the significance of his victory, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong gave ‘Bakal’ a handsome $50,000 bonus.
Abdullaev acknowledged that he was prepared to use every trick in his arsenal, but that only one shot was necessary to secure the decisive victory in his post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson. He also declared that he is prepared to advance to the featherweight world title fray:
Abdullaev might eventually climb into the top five in the featherweight rankings, though it’s far too early to say.
